Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement.
Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement.
KEY POINTS:
Like a trainwreck you can't look away from, Flight of the Conchords serves up the same painfully awkward comedy as The Office or Napoleon Dynamite.
The premise is simple: Two Kiwi boys - Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie - are transplanted to New York City in a futilequest to crack the American music scene.
The point of difference is the duo's unique "folk parody" musical interludes, which are interspersed throughout the half-hour show.
While this cringe-inducing brand of comedy is not for everyone, there is no denying the boys have got the genre down pat.
The series also offers an extra giggle for Kiwis, as it is littered with subtle references to New Zealand.
The New Zealand consulate office, where the band's manager Murray happens to work, is fitted out with cheap 80s wood veneer and tourism posters, which read "New Zealand: Don't expect too much. You'll love it."
In one scene, Clement is seen sporting a uniquely New Zealand Little Brother t-shirt.
Fellow countryman Rhys Derby brings his own quirky comedy to the show in the role of Murray, becoming New Zealand's own David Brent.
But the star of the show, garnering the most laughs from this reviewer, was not any of the Kiwi contingent, but American actress Kristen Schaal, who plays the band's sole fan, Mel.
The obsessive stalker character is one which could easily have been overplayed and cliche, but Schaal manages to balance the character's eccentricities with a likeability that makes Mel not only bearable, but actually endearing.
Quirky, amusing and slightly obscure, it is hard to imagine this series will survive in the cut-throat world that is the American television market.
In the New Zealand market, however, it's safe to say the show will succeed on novelty factor alone. It's not every day two Kiwi boys make it big in New York City.
